


深淵の花弁|||Efflorescent Insignia|||

by ChocolateCarnival



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Twins, Blood and Gore, Brother/Sister Incest, Childhood to Adulthood Fic, Dark fic, F/M, Father Figure Madara, Hinata is Sasuke's twin, Hyuuga Hinata is an Uchiha, Possessive Uchiha Sasuke, Protective Uchiha Madara, Shy Uchiha Hinata, Slow Burn Taboo, Twincest, alternate universe elements, 深淵の花弁 -Shin’en no Hanabira – Petals of the Abyss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateCarnival/pseuds/ChocolateCarnival
Summary: ‘Like the gossamer veil of spherulitic filaments, threads of the neon
        cosmos wove itself deep within the depths of blessed Sharingan eyes. Towards the future
        they raced, twin helix hands bound eternally in Phantasia’s lullaby.’
        -Ancient Uchiha Love BalladHow mournful to allow two, innocent, souls to live in a graveyard’s bitter
    embrace. The ancient protections twined in the silent Uchiha Compound won’t
    ignite for just anyone. Yet, when there was no longer a choice Uchiha
    Sasuke crossed a line into the forbidden.He roused a demon from the void, and with him came the abyss.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uchiha Sasuke, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 14
Kudos: 72





	1. 花一: Thy Impetuous Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Hey my lovelies, I'm back. I'm FINALLY finished with Uni for the year! YAY! 
> 
> Now I can focus back on my writing until next year when class starts again. I felt like doing something a little different, since I haven't written any Het pairings in a long time and SasuHina is my only OTP het pairing for the Naruto fandom. 
> 
> As always, I won't make it a straight forward plot to make it easy for myself will I? I've always had a taste for the forbidden so if twincest is not your cup of tea...please don't read. The warnings are quite clear here. Sasuke and Hinata are twins, and will eventually indulge in a forbidden relationship. 
> 
> Other than that, I do so love messing with the time line. And who could forget Madara, hehe. He needs to find a loving family too. So this fic, aims to satisfy that. I also have a Madara x Hinata one-shot about halfway finished written already. 
> 
> I'll get to finishing that after this post and after that it's back to my other lovelies, The Phantasmagoria Current and My Antebellum Moon. 
> 
> Anyways, I do hope my honeys enjoy this one.

Situated on hallow ground and carved within the alluvial madness of the Uchiha compound, a cavernous fortification rooted itself deep inside the underground Naka Shrine. Destined of his destiny, soul of his soul, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood; only _he_ , the Harbinger bent beneath the weight of their forefather’s mind-numbing odium, had the ability to unlock centuries’ worth of seals engraved inside these imposing subterranean walls. 

Saturating the mind of _his_ mind, soothing the child of his child — the steady _drip, drip, drip_ of sanguine lifeblood traced unknown space-time sigils inscribed on the floor by their Founder’s hand. Whilst death and pandemonium reigned in the elemental nations far above, glowing pools of fortified Uchiha consanguinity awakened the Patriarchal _demon_ long since bound inside Konohagakura no Sato’s blackening cosmos. 

Spiralling Eternal Mangekyō orbs snapped open with a heady rush the Uchiha had not felt since _long_ before his death, elegantly gloved fingertips rising to be inspected with a frown of curiosity as thigh-length feral locks, dark enough to drink its very hue from the lands of _Yomi_ , tumbled forward to partially obscure elegant features behind swaying, shoulder-length, bangs. 

Cycling Samsara eyes flashed in a momentary — violet — overly; an uncontained flood of vitality infusing trembling limbs as the ancient warrior roused himself in the marrow of mind-numbing darkness. 

A flicker of otherworldly flame extinguished itself at his first, rasping, breath. The sporadic torches plunging the earthen chamber in a curl of pitch and smoke, a brief shrug of restlessness finally ridding the shinobi of unnecessary armour as he straightened powerful shoulders in preparation for what was to come. 

_“Hn.”_ The Rinnegan Master grinned, effortlessly snapping iron shackles meant to bind his power as the Clan’s treasured _gunbai_ and _kusarigama_ gleamed on the opposite wall beneath spinning Sharingan irises. They were never permitted far from his hands, he mused. A rich curiosity carefully tracing the underground madness in search of the summoner that facilitated his long-awaited but unexpected awakening. 

This was not the cave where Madara died however, nor was it ragging battlefields of chaos he was expected to be called to subjugate. _No_ , there was no chakra infused despair carved inside these lands, nor was it the Valley of the End the Shōdaime Hokage had been so determined to seal his soul within—. 

“Nnngh…please! Will you help us?! The scroll, the scroll s-said you’d protect the Clan at any cost!” A tiny voice warbled in distress, snapping the waking demon from his musings to track two considerable chakra sources backed protectively against the far wall. One, definitely a boy, was crouched in front of an ancient Uchiha scroll Madara remembered amending not long before his abandonment of this forsaken village. 

Strange though, that a mere child should be able to decipher and activate its contents. The other, though possessing a chakra that flickered sporadically beneath the crush of the ancestor’s, currently posed no threat in their unconscious state. The blistering little protector, however, _he_ was something else—. 

“Who are you, boy?” The Patriarch demanded, stalking forward menacingly as a visible sanguine eye narrowed in warning the moment defiant black collided with Sharingan red. Neither were unseeing in the encompassing darkness, the power of millennia-old dōjutsu prowess making it possible for gifted Uchiha to see even in the darkest abyss. 

“How is it possible that I am here? That a mere a _child_ can summon my body and soul in perfect synchronicity? Do you have any idea what you have done, boy? The curse you have afflicted on your coils, you mind, your soul?" 

“I don’t care.” The child hissed indigently, his small frame — no older than seven or eight — _refusing_ to be intimidated by the strongest warrior to ever grace the history of their clan. In fact, a flash of pure defiance straightened small shoulders as immature dōjutsu eyes flared to pin the older Uchiha in place. 

A single tamoe Sharingan may have exerted absolutely no power over the Patriarch’s centuries refined Mangekyō, but it was enough to silence the man’s rising confusion and frustration. 

“You—.” Madara faltered momentarily. 

Encountering an active Sharingan on one so young had always been painful for him, even during eras of war where such happenings were rife. Every Uchiha clansman was intimately aware of the deep emotional distress needed to awaken their _kekkei genkai_. Yet, seeing it in a supposed age of peace, was enough to freeze the crimson demon in place. 

It had been a long time since he last saw such hopeless despair and fear, not directed at him, reflected in a child’s eyes. And death, the ashen, rotten, scent of it clung to these two tiny bodies enough to fill the entire underground chamber. 

His tiny summoner, tainted with more hatred and despair than many a war-hardened warrior he came across, shifted beneath his ancestor’s gaze as he protectively shielded what Madara finally deciphered as a distinctly feminine chakra. It was tinged, curiously enough, with a spiralling fire-lightning affinity, as opposed to the boy’s crackling lighting-fire. 

“The scroll! K-Kaa-chan said Uchiha Madara would always protect us, even if he was dead. Please! We need you! We can’t survive here much longer!” The smaller Uchiha finally cracked, a despairing sob abruptly shattering the chakra dense atmosphere. 

“They took everything from us! _He_ killed them all!” Madara sighed at the anguished howl escaping the little one’s trembling lips, pained tears carving sorrowful tracks across emotionally flushed cheeks as a heaving shoulder struggled to regain enough composure to scrub away the evidence of the boy’s shattered pride. 

“N-now…n-now they want Hinata too! They want t-to take her a-away! I won’t let them! She’s all I have left! I won’t let them TAKE HER! You have to help! P-please! I can’t—!” Lowering his imposing hundred-and-eighty-six-centimetre frame to a less intimidating stance, Uchiha Madara brought himself closer to calm the quickly panicking child as he blinked once, twice, before cycling down menacing cruor carmine orbs to a more soothing Uchiha black. 

“Alright. Alright, little one. Just breathe, _breathe_ and calm down.” 

Not many were aware the legendary Uchiha had a soft spot for the children of his Clan, they were the burning sparks of joy meant to preserve the future of their family. Not as a valuable fighting resource or possible tools in battle, but as a reminder why he fought so fiercely to retain his clan’s honour. 

“Tell me what happened.” A quiet hum drew back the terrifyingly dark chakra the Patriarch had always been told was colder than ice but hotter than the fires of hell. Leaning forward to place a calming hand atop a head of soft black locks, he struggled to contain the ache of recognition that flickered in the back of his mind as Izuna’s gentle features looked back at him from beneath eyes far too much like his own. 

“What happened, child? Tell me everything.” Chakra depleted Sharingan orbs flickered mournfully towards the little girl Madara couldn’t quite make out before. 

“I…I—.” 

“If you cannot speak, then show me.” The elder breathed quietly, a hitched exhalation swiftly reigniting a series of carmine-flamed torches that had gone out at the moment of his awakening. He shifted to observe his audience curling in on himself, a small arm wrapped self-soothingly around knobby knees as a small hand refused to let go of the delicate palm held in the child’s left. 

“Look into my eyes.” And the little boy obeyed, one-tamoed Sharingan colliding with beautifully unique spherical violet as the sacral _shinden_ faded away from around them to reconstruct a world dripping with the unique beauty of a child’s mind. 

* * * * 

_Devoid of life, sound, breath…the Uchiha Compound loomed like a decaying monolith in the distance. It was painted in ugly smears of grey and monochrome red, winding street grids painted with rivers of dried blood and ghostly wails of the dead. There was no one left here, only two tiny figures transversing the concrete maze to stand hand-in-hand at the Naka River’s edge. Yet, even in the scene’s desolate destruction and despair, flickers of a quiet, childlike, beauty could still be found._

_Delicately swaying wildflowers dotted unattended fields, a conspiracy of ravens perched like sentinels atop a mighty yew tree — its trunk spanning an awe-inspiring four-meters — sprouting from the nutrient rich riverbank soil. In the shade of its swaying canopy; the Uchiha pair quietly made their way across a dilapidated wooden walkway to stand at the water’s edge._

_The boy-girl pair, looking so much like each other, proudly bore the Uchiha fan emblazoned on their backs. The boy, Sasuke, turned apathetic features to observe his little sister staring serenely at the water’s mirror surface. She was so much like its pacified nature, her unique eyes — a pupiless ametrine ringed with depthless Uchiha black, smiling back at him as they lifted twined fingers to knead a series of familiar seals without a word._

_With his right hand folding effortlessly with her left, they opened a vast and unique reservoir of chakra between them. His eyes, a unique pitch black enringed with filaments of ametrine-violet, carefully coaxed the flavour of smoulder and ash upon his lips as he shared its blistering taste with her — mouth-to-mouth, lip-to-lip, soul-to-soul._

_It took a flimmering second to ignite a dual Katon: G_ _ō_ _kaky_ _ū_ _no Jutsu in their lungs, a heady exhalation simultaneously releasing enough fire to coil slivers of steam and spraying foam from the watery depths. The spinel ball of flame grew and grew and grew, illuminating the lazy mid-afternoon creep as wildflowers continued to winnow gently in the wind._

_The little girl, Hinata, pressed a sweaty forehead against her brother’s the moment their technique peaked and faded. Quiet sighs panting for breath as they shared a secret, shy, smile only twins could understand. They didn’t need to utter a single word, their minds and bodies and souls having been intimately bound since birth._

How rare, _Otou-san had said._

I don’t care, _Okaa-san hissed._

_Uchiha twins were practically unheard of, especially since both children bore traces of kekkei genkai_ not _but_ still _of their Clan. Beyond their unique little world, clansmen and clanswomen accused the Matriarch of bedding a Hy_ _ū_ _ga. The Patriarch, unwilling to engage and seek the truth, remained positively artic whilst his eyes remained solely trained on the progress of his eldest._

_Yet, to Sasuke and Hinata, neither were old enough or aware enough to understand the electric harshness residing in their home. They lived as themselves, innocent and sweet and bright, always together and always,_ always _, seeking the approval of the only Uchiha to ever look at them unconditionally._

_That was until Nii-san—._

_“S-Sasuke. C-come, let’s g-go home.” The girl tugged on the short sleeve of her brother’s shirt. Hers, cut in much the same manner except for its wide-bell sleeves covering shyly fidgeting fingertips, swayed softly against small thighs. A thick lavender obi was tied messily around her waist, used as a quiet allusion of femineity as her hair, cut much like his own except for soft Princess-like bangs, made her body appear fleeting and androgenous._

_“S-Sasuke, w-we should—.”_

_“Hn.” The seven-year-old agreed, automatically winding their fingers in a delicate caress as he took the lead. On the way, they gathered the scattered tools of their afternoon practice: shuriken buried determinedly in haphazard wooden targets, kunai and senbon gleaming momentarily in the afternoon sunlight as ancient scrolls detailing Clan techniques dotted the isolated forest clearing._

_It wasn’t until he heard her small gasp of fear and pain that he sensed a disturbance in the air, a miasma of masked shadows bleeding from the opposite treeline to scatter a murder of crows silently watching over their safety—._

_“NIISAN!” Her cry echoed sheer panic, an immediate flash of fear igniting black-ametrine irises as Sharingan-red bled over the older twin’s vision. Watching in disbelief as Konoha’s elite guard, the Hokage’s masked brigade, leapt across the distance with silent determination._

_Sasuke didn’t think, didn’t breathe…he simply grabbed Hinata’s arm and started running. Only they, the last Uchiha, understood these lands like the back of their hand. Millenia of wars had engraved hundreds of seals, pitfalls, bamboo skewers and traps across the vast Clan terrain. Though, internally, the boy was distinctly aware he and Hinata were no match for the ANBU —_ Nii-sama has been ANBU once and look at the destruction he wrought _._

_He would not let them hurt the last remaining member of his family. His precious,_ precious _, Hinata. The soul of his soul, mind of his mind, blood of his blood—._

Remember, Sasuke. _Okaa-san said once._ If anything happens to your father and I, run as fast as you can towards the Naka Shrine. Beneath the shinden, the fifth tatami to the right, is a passage that leads to the underground Uchiha fortress. The seals engraved in the stone there will protect you and your sister. Be careful though, not to open the scroll on the altar and spill blood on the sigils carved in the floor. 

Unless this Clan is doomed and there is no way out, do _not_ wake the sleeping demon. _Sasuke could remember that promise weighing heavily on his mind, tears of frustration carving sheer agony down his cheeks as he cursed himself for not obeying his mother’s words the night of the Massacre. If he had…if he had awoken that sleeping demon then, maybe they wouldn’t be running for their lives in this godforsaken compound again—._

_“Sasuke…Sasuke…” Hinata sobbed, breath hitching painfully in her lungs as adrenalin pushed them further and faster than ever before. Only his sister’s panicked calls of his name kept his mind firmly buried in reality, his own terror feeding, rising, twirling, combining with her own as sharp Sharingan eyes glanced back every now and then to scan her for injury._

_He nearly froze when he traced the small, near unnoticeable, carmine pinprick decorating the side of her neck._

Senbon _, Sasuke’s mind supplied._ Poisoned. _She was starting to lag exhaustedly behind him, quicksilver needle dropping, terrified, from her fingertips as her limbs became heavy and encumbered with the occasional curse or yelp of ANBU encountering traps hidden in the underbrush._

_He felt it the moment they passed into relative safety, the familiar vibration of the Naka Shrine’s blood seal rising like a dome from the towering six-metre torii encompassing miles of hallow Uchiha underground._

_“Just a little further, Hina. Please. Just a little further.” Sasuke pleaded with her, the gods, demons…anyone who would listen. He knew instinctively he could not call for help from the outside or reach the village hospital by himself. No, they had to act_ now _. The Uchiha could no longer rely on anyone. Sasuke could trust no one but her—._

_Even in her fading consciousness she helped him as they descended into the Clan catacombs; twin, clasped, palms weaving through seals and chakra with a precision and power near impossible in children so young. Yet, kneading jutsu between them was as easy as breathing, a massive two-meter scroll unrolling with the touch of sacral blood as he split his thumb and ignited a series of ancient sigils carved in the floor._

_For hours Sasuke worked, containing…straining…slipping to keep his panic from interfering as Hinata lost consciousness and tumbled to the floor behind him. The first thread of indigo chakra, not their own, threading through seals in answer to their violet-black drew him back to crouch protectively in front of his twin._

_He watched, silent, as flickering torches spluttered and spat in a damning dance. They were committing the Clan’s greatest taboo…they were rousing the demon of the Uchiha Clan — the silent but scorned protector their mother called him away from their father’s ears. Her own family line, descending through the near-forgotten line of Izuna—._

_The Brother of the god Madara._

_* * * *_

Drawing a heaving breath into harshly straining lungs, spiralling Samsara eyes finally freed themselves from the depths of a racing, immature, mind. Madara was finding it difficult to restrain the blistering rage and confusion igniting the depths of his soul, carefully bringing a small body against his chest as he curled the last of two remaining Uchiha treasures in the circle of his arms. 

“I will help you, Sasuke. I’ll help you and your sister.” He promised, Rinnegan orbs swiftly scanning the little girl’s unconscious form for any trace of poison. Even if she _were_ to die, he could bring her back without Sasuke ever knowing. Lucky for him though, Uchiha Hinata was merely dosed with a powerful medical sedative. 

That alone set his temper spiralling, its use on an underage girl alluded to a perpetrator’s desire to abduct rather than kill. And the abduction of the first Clan Princess to grace the Uchiha mainline in five centuries, was something he knew detailed far more deplorable plans than her twin currently had the knowledge to understand. 

Sasuke refused to release Hinata’s hand however, finding himself eternally grateful to the older shinobi as Madara gathered her in his arms and still permitted them to keep a physical connection. He had never seen or felt someone as powerful as the demon next to him before, his regal posture and elegantly-aged features containing years more genius than even their brother or father. 

The man’s chakra too, was heavy and dark. Strangely comforting as it felt a _lot_ like theirs, so very different from the rest of the Uchiha but still the same where it mattered. It was greater than stars in the cosmos, though…almost—. 

“W-will Hina be alright?” The boy finally braved, violently cursing the stutter kissing his lips much as it did his sister’s. Sasuke may respect the elder Uchiha’s command and power, but he was desperate to know if he would have to live without the comfort of his other half. He didn’t think he could do it without her. No, if Hina died…so would he. 

There was no question about it. 

“She will be fine, child. She was merely dosed with a sedative.” The Uchiha Patriarch assured, beckoning his increasingly distressed shadow deeper into the twisted underground fortress with him. He carefully scanned the complex stalactite maze for a usable bunk, weary to take more than an hour to find a fully functioning room. 

They eventually happened upon one not long after, harsh stone floors giving way to soft tatami mats as a curl of flame ignited the hearth with a wave of gloved fingertips. It didn’t take long for Madara to coax the little ones to bed, spreading a large futon formerly sealed inside a series of supply scrolls dotting the far wall. 

“Madara-san, y-you’re not going to l-leave us, r-right?” 

“I’ll be back, Sasuke.” Madara promised, squeezing small fingers in reassurance the moment they curled in the folds of his tunic. It twisted his heart to deny the boy something as simple as physical comfort, a cycle of chakra winding down the complex power of his dōjutsu until he could use the three-tamoed Sharingan to coax the smaller Uchiha into a relaxed doze. 

Curling protectively around his sister, a small forehead pressed reassuringly against the top of his twin’s head. Even with the infamous founder of Konoha watching a few seconds longer, he drifted into blackened unconsciousness when his mind finally caught up with the fact that they were safe for now. 

* * * * 

_“Fuck!”_ Madara swore. Never once did he imagine he’d be back in this accursed village, especially not after the pains he had taken to facilitate his own awakening somewhere down the line. Despite the soft susurrus of vengeance howling for Konoha’s destruction in the back of his mind, he simply could not find it in himself to leave two innocents to face the such devastation by themselves just yet. 

There were still so many unanswered questions clouding the depths of his soul, making the former Clan Head wonder just who, in their right mind, allowed such small children to play with Katon techniques without supervision. And the other little titbit he had come across, just how did the first pair of Uchiha twins he had ever seen come into possession of two of the world’s three most powerful dōjutsu? 

What had he missed since his death for things to unravel so quickly? What the fuck was Obito doing and how many months, _years_ , _centuries_ had passed since he breathed his last? 

Either way, the former Uchiha Clan Head had no choice but to violently shove the swirling array of questions aside and focus. He had a nest of insects to clean up outside, nimble footsteps completely assured in finding their way to the top of the Shrine without being seen as gloved fingertips played with the bladed edge of a single _kunai._

If there was one thing he _did_ know, it was that there was no way he would have woken if not for the call of his reincarnated soul and their capacity to carry his power in their veins. Essentially those twins were _his_ , his children to protect and nurture and guide. The Uchiha Patriarch hummed to himself in thought as fleetfooted steps transversed sacred roof tiles before crouching placidly in the fractal light of the stars. 

There was currently no need for him to go in search of his _gunbai, kusarigama_ or armour. No, these pitiful ants were not even worth the _kunai_ wielded in the palm of his hand. The midsummer night air was sickly and wet with humidity, clinging to the feral strands of his hair as the moonless firmament made it near impossible for normal shinobi to detect his presence. 

Only by the fire of the Sharingan did he have to see, sitting nonchalantly on the roof’s curled awning as he watched a group of scurrying guards try to meld themselves in the shadows. 

They were not very careful or skilled, he noted. Nor were they alert enough to put up much of a fight. In fact, Madara had to wonder — not for the first time — if they assumed they were only up against two unskilled children unable to fight back. 

They sure as fuck were not worth _his_ time. Yet, Uchiha Madara had promised little Sasuke that he’d protect them. Honouring promises among Clan was not something arbitrarily dismissed. It was what separated the Uchiha from the true demons of the abyss. Though, he chuckled, with him he was sure something went a little wrong with the creation of his soul—. 

Drawing shimmering wisps of indigo chakra back into the confines of straining coils, the dark-haired shinobi obscured his presence so precisely that not a single sensor had the ability to pick up on his arrival. Layering a perception-numbing genjutsu over the area was child’s play, Sharingan eyes easily picking out a team of six shinobi waiting patiently for any indication of movement inside the Shrine. 

The eerily silent compound spread in the distance grated on Madara’s nerves, the vast space more silent and sorrowful that a haunted tomb. Curling gloved fingertips around the handle of his _kunai_ , a leaping shunshin went unseen in the nocturnal cosmos as the ripe scent of blood and wildflowers spiralled menacingly through the air. 

Prey dropped around him like flies, one…two…three…four before they even realized something was wrong. The scatter of gutted bodies and slit throats spilled wet pools on blackened grass, the eyes of a demon seizing their souls with every last nightmare they could imagine before death crawled over their sight. It came as no relief however, consuming their minds in a scorching hatred and flame so hot it could only have been wielded by the expert hands of an Uchiha. 

Madara was unbothered by the trail of entrails and viscera trampled beneath his feet, seizing the sixth ANBU in his merciless grasp as he finally let the kunai fly from his hand. It instantly buried itself between the fifth guard’s glazed eyes. Crushing a straining neck in the palm of his hand, demonic cruor eyes flickered mnemonically as he violently extracted orders, dates, justifications, commanders and plans from the depths of a straining consciousness. 

The fact that he came across a death seal, cleverly branded on the man’s tongue to prevent him from speaking, barely slowed his assault. The Uchiha Patriarch tore through its binds like paper, severing the connection before reigniting it once more only only to watch the man burst in a flare of ungodly flame and shrieks. 

A heady rush of adrenalin hummed deliciously in the pathway of his veins, sparking flares of euphoria across his vision as the godlike shinobi cast his senses across Konoha’s beehive of activity in search of his next victims. It didn’t take long to find the first, the towering municipal building rising sentinel in the marrow of its chaos. 

He moved in silence, a few minutes of calm weaving tapestries of war through the fetters of his soul as he planned and planned and planned and sought the farce of a leader reigning over this accursed land. The Hokage tower was teeming with countless more guards, their bodies dropping on the spot the moment they unconsciously looked into spiralling carmine eyes. 

There was a reason Uchiha Madara was feared, there was a reason his statue stood ten-feet high in the Valley of the End. And there was a _reason_ why the only man capable of challenging him was long dead. The Uchiha demon had awoken once more and his first act of destruction would begin at the seat that started it all. 

The Hokage’s throne. 

“Such lax security, is it not, monkey?” He purred, evocative voice pinning the ancient pillar of power – now nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the council – inside his crimson glare. Those wizened eyes snapped towards the supposedly sealed windows, the Uchiha making himself comfortable as he nonchalantly propped his forearm against a raised knee. 

He had already resolved himself to find the answers to the fucking mess that wiped out his clan. For its last two little treasures, he would do anything to protect them. Even if it meant ripping the only stable home they had ever known right from beneath their feet. For every Uchiha killed, the Patriarch swore to take a thousand in repayment until this man could do nothing but howl in despair at his own blindness and spineless actions. 

Uchiha Madara had risen and with him, the fathomless abyss. 

* * * * 

深淵の花弁 -Shin’en no Hanabira – Petals of the Abyss 

花一 – Hana Ichi - First Flower 


	2. 花二: Mine Empyrean Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my Honeys
> 
> I am so sad to say that this is my last week on break from Uni so my updates may came in slower than they have in the last three months. But, I am so happy for everyone's support and enjoyment of my works! I have another one-shot of Indra X Sasuke posted under Argentine Sun and I'd dearly like to hear my honey's opinion on if it was a good read. And also my story the Uchiha Maven about Shisui x Sasuke. 
> 
> Also, just a little note, the name 'Mahan' I came across in The Uchiha Legacy by LadyKimmey. I fell in love with the story and the name. So, I wish to give her credit where it is due. I adore the name so much that I could not write this story without it. 
> 
> Either way, I do hope this chapter is enjoyable and that my Honeys have looked forward to it. Halcyon Temptation is next....or My Antebellum Moon...I'll have to see where the winds of writing take me.

“I want recompense for my Clan, Monkey. Your village is going to pay it.” Madara noted calmly, dismounting silently from the window ledge as he trailed seething eyes over the old man frozen at the sight of his Eternal Mangekyō. This was not a nightmare; he was eager to remind the Sandaime. Tobirama’s once proud student was definately not dreaming the shinobi demon up, nor was he escaping the fluctuating gravity of Madara’s wrath. 

_Retribution_ was coming…and it was coming for them _all._

For all the Patriarch’s inherent violence, hatred, rage and darkness; the Uchiha Ancestor was just a shrewd a strategist and leader as the Professor seated before him. The eternal thirty-seven-year-old just didn’t care enough in his former life to bow to the demands of his Clan elders and later, the sycophancy of the Senju’s unfounded optimism. 

Uchiha Madara was known for forging his own path, for walking, untouched, amongst death and destruction and despair to achieve his goals. He contained enough power and intelligence in his little finger to stand far above his peers and enemies at any time, a god in his own right untouched by the views of society and senseless masses. 

Finding himself back in this village, the cage unable to contain his rage and despair, made little difference. The former Uchiha Clan Head would paint the walls of this godforsaken town in the blood and shame of those who raised their hands against his descendants. 

Politics had never been Madara’s game, nor was it his interest. Now, however, _now_ the Uchiha would force himself to dig past the initial flood of hatred and vengeance their actions ignited in his blood. He learned enough secrets to shatter the prideful elders simply by exploring the mind of that ANBU scum. Now, he wanted answers. 

By calming his instinctive response to main, kill, destroy; the shinobi god could achieve so much more control and power by enclosing the Fire Nation’s Hokage in the palm of his hand. It would be easy…too easy to shame this man’s rule and break his protective hold over the land. 

The Elder Council would be forced to grovel in shame before the shinobi clans. Of how the supposed protectors and _elite_ serving the Hokage, sought to destroy one its founding clans without attempting to reach a peaceful resolution—. 

Oh yes, Madara was going to enjoy watching the chaos unfold. 

The Uchiha Ancestor grinned menacingly, feral thigh-length strands swaying momentarily in the breeze as he revelled openly in manic laughter. His dōjutsu was spinning and morphing deep inside carmine-red irises, their inherent prowess and legendary skill overpowering dazed brown eyes already captive in his Tsukuyomi. 

Even if the Uchiha had been preserving the blank space for the use of his _Tsuki-no-Me Keikaku,_ it would serve as a perfect platform to capture the Hokage’s consciousness. 

“This isn’t going to pleasant.” The Uchiha Demon smirked, a black gloved palm striking violently against Sarutobi’s chest as flicker of violet Samsara altered Eternal Mangekyō eyes. There was no holding back in that moment, only the overpowering rush of chakra seeping across Rinnegan orbs as the Patriarch narrowed his focus on his target. 

“I’ll make sure to enjoy every minute of it.” _Ningend_ _ō_ was unlike any other interrogation technique Madara ever came across before, the Human Path literally grasping hold of a man’s soul and bypassing any and every trap situated inside high-ranking shinobi minds. The stream of information it erected was uncontrolled chaos, years of memories and thoughts pushing itself upon the Patriarch’s own consciousness as unseeing Rinnegan orbs flicked mnemonically to the side. 

Hours. It felt like hours he was immersed in the deepest depths of the Hokage’s consciousness. The information it sprawled before him was disgustingly clear and wicked, only confirming the brief secrets the Uchiha managed to extract from the ROOT operative earlier. Sarutobi, it seemed, didn’t like dirtying his hands with the running of his village. 

Rather, he let it fall into the corrupted hands of other scum more ambitious and darker at heart than even Madara himself. 

It may not have been the entire story but Madara understood more than the gist of it. Konoha wanted to suppress an uprising in the Uchiha Clan when they sensed their control over them waning. Not surprising that after so many years of isolation and discrimination, the Clan wanted nothing more than to rise against their oppressors. 

One did not contain an Uchiha or stamp out their pride. 

It was an outcome the Patriarch foresaw many decades ago when he abandoned the Leaf himself, when his Clan betrayed him and dishonoured his name for tentative peace lasting less than a century—. 

The people he tried to protect turned their backs of him, black gloved fingertips curling in a frustrated fist by his side. The Clan had named _him_ traitor to his people, warmonger and blinded by the hatred of his brother’s death. Yet, here they were, massacred by the hands of one of their own and two innocents left with the consequences of the dead pressing on two tiny, eight-year-old, backs. 

It made Madara pause, bitter bile rising unrestrainedly in the back of his throat as he fought every instinct inside himself to simply rip the Hokage’s soul from his body and lay waste to this accursed land. _Nothing_ would give him more pleasure than causing the same devastation and despair they visited upon the little ones, upon himself, upon peace…upon his dead Clan—. 

_“Fuck!”_ It was only Madara’s uncertainty of what was happening out in the world and his obligation to the last of his descendants that stayed his hand. He felt bitterly cheated of his revenge as he let the Hokage’s soul and consciousness settle back in his own body, withdrawing himself to stand across the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Y-you! What have you _done!_ How are you here?! Uchiha Madara! I will—.” 

“You will do absolutely nothing.” The Patrairch hissed menacingly, a feral darkness crossing vivid Rinnegan orbs as he curled his right in a partial rabbit seal. “I’ve already branded your heart and sealed your mind under my control.” 

“Never again will you be able to move freely, think freely, turn against me or spill a single word of what we discuss here. You can only pay for your sins, Sarutobi Hiruzen.” Madara continued, stoic features apathetically observing the frail excuse of a man sitting across from him with little to no pride. 

“I told you, I want recompense for my Clan.” He reiterated calmly. “You and this village are going to pay it.” The man should never have returned to the seat of power after the fall of the Yondaime, he thought. There were other candidates in the new generation smarter and more willing to protect the village than a retired old man hailing from the Nidaime’s bitter ilk. 

“First, I will be granted a new identity.” 

“Under the name Uchiha Mahan, I will re-join Konoha’s forces as a Jōnin returning from a covert mission that lasted over a decade. You will sort out the papers and story before the end of the week.” 

“Secondly, I will be retaking my position on the Shinobi Council as Patrairch of the Uchiha Clan. You will reopen our Clan’s rightful place to sit as advisors and Founders of this village.” 

“No. I cannot—.” 

“You don’t seem to understand the position you are in, Sandaime.” Madara mocked, the one-hand seal shifting to half a dog as the previous jutsu he cast violently constricted the Hokage’s heart and lungs. The man fell forward, head hitting his desk as gnarled fingers clawed at stacks of paper for breath he suddenly didn’t seem to have. 

His head was no likely exploding from the agonizing pressure the Rinnegan wielded over his soul, the control so fierce and finetuned the Uchiha Patrairch wielded every thought, action, reaction spiralling through the man’s being. 

“Nothing you say or attempt to defy will change what I tell you to do. You can only obey. As of now, you are under _my_ control. I have already worked out a genealogical chart that relates ‘Mahan’ as the illegitimate child of ‘Madara’. As such it will open a path for me to sit on the council without any objection.” The Patriarch continued. 

“Custody of Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Hinata will fall under me. In return, you will be leaking information regarding the Uchiha Massacre to your Jōnin Commander, Torture and Interrogation Squad and Internal Affairs.” Turning stoic eyes in the direction of the dawning horizon, Madara paid little mind to the ever-nearing changing of guards as he cast his senses out toward the Uchiha Compound in search of any untoward activity invading their lands. 

“I expect the truth to be out on the streets by the time the twins are genin in four years. You, Hiruzen, will resign the second the truth is revealed.” 

“Thirdly, I want the Elder council dissolved and Shimura Danzo’s schemes exposed. He ordered the abduction of Uchiha Hinata tonight, for what sick purpose, I can only imagine.” 

“He’ll be exiled by the end of the week,” The Uchiha grinned. “Uchiha Itachi, too, will be informed of what has transpired at the man’s hand. I want him to take his little squad of sycophants with him when he leaves.” The Uchiha planned, mind racing through thousands of countermeasures as he tilted his head thoughtfully to the side. 

“His pitiful forces would certainly serve in delaying his death outside village. But only in so far that they’ll keep him alive for the Uchiha twins to do with what they please when they’re ready.” 

It would certainly be amusing to see pandemonium erupt in Konoha over the next few years, the demon mused. He would definitely enjoy watching this man scramble to keep war from breaking out in the ranks and simultaneously avoid attacks concentrated from the more ambitious and vengeful shinobi outside. 

Orochimaru, Ōnoki, Danzo, Uchiha Itachi…Kumogakura, Kirigakura, Iwagakura, Sunagakura; it would be a bloodbath once the village’s infrastructure slowly crumbled from the inside. But then again, Sarutobi Hiruzen was known for his genius prowess and delicate political manoeuvring. He would certainly provide the Patriarch entertainment by attempting to outwit the devastation Madara was sowing. 

“I’ll give you a day to think over the final details,” The onyx-haired demon mused, turning on his heel as headed towards the open window. The early morning breeze tickled shoulder-length black bangs across his cheek, all-seeing Rinnegan orbs tracing the mauvine daybreak slowly contouring the moonless sky. 

It was time he returned to his new charges. 

Madara didn’t want to leave the little ones vulnerable for much longer. There was no telling what other surprises would be waiting for them back at the district. At least Madara knew the underground shelter was isolated and protected with impenetrable seals. It was a veritable fortress against those without pure Uchiha blood running in their veins. 

“Hn,” The Patriarch hummed thoughtfully, pausing momentarily in his steps to gaze irritably over his shoulder. “I forgot to mention. Do send out a squad unrelated to Danzo to clean up the mess he made on Uchiha Land. There is a scattering of dead insects that’ll upset the children should they remain much longer.” 

Madara didn’t feel it imperative to mention he took out more than a quarter of Danzo’s elite warriors in the blink of an eye, nor that the sheer carnage he left behind was enough to traumatize any underage shinobi unused to the destruction of war his generation was born into. 

Sarutobi and his council were no longer his problem, their treason and trespasses would fall solely in the realm of the Hokage’s mercy for now. It wasn’t worth his time or thought, the Uchiha had more than enough contingencies worked into the Monkey’s mind and soul. 

He was more than satisfied with his current progress, even if he felt disorientated and unsettled by the immense flood of information he mined from Sarutobi’s soul. Feeling slightly unbalanced by most of a lifetime he read in the space of four hours, Madara didn’t even realize it taken that long to extract useful information. 

_Ningend_ _ō_ was definitely a technique that had its downsides, he mused. Especially if one did not know what they were looking for. 

It was truly a shame he couldn’t strike down the perpetrators where they stood. But then again, there were so many factors and variables the Patrairch had to take into consideration. He essentially arrived in this plane blind to Obito’s current progress, never mind the planned objectives the one-eyed Uchiha may or may not have achieved. 

Not only that, but for the first time, Madara found himself hesitant in seeking out his pawn. There was something thicker than blood connecting him to the little Uchiha Twins right now, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. 

Whether it was their reliance on his honour, protection or gentleness, or the connection in chakra and soul they shared. It certainly felt like _millennia_ since anyone looked at Madara as something more than a means to an end or a warrior to subjugate the masses. 

The eternal thirty-seven-year-old had not felt wanted like this since his brothers and Izuna. It filled his mind and soul with a responsibility he genuinely wanted to see through, even if it had the possibility to go against everything he planned in relation to the _Tsuki-no-Me Keikaku._

Madara was not ready to leave Sasuke and Hinata to face the cruelty of the world by themselves just yet. They were family, the likes of which he had not had in the many years of isolated madness and ambition clouding his mind. Hopefully, this time, he could find the true answer to peace he had been seeking for decades. 

* * * * 

_Sasuke-nii. Sasuke…are you alright? Sasuke?_

Uchiha Hinata’s thoughts were echoing deafeningly in the depths of her mind, the younger of the two unable to control the instinctive need to call out to her brother even whilst struggling to anchor her consciousness in reality. There was a heady and familiar warmth wrapped comfortingly around her, an aching forehead laid, near suffocatingly, against the crook of a warm neck as the appeasing scent of lightning and fire assaulted her senses. 

“Sasu-nii?” The eight-year-old gasped, a momentary shiver of fear arresting her heart as the only remaining brother she had didn’t even stir at the sound of her voice. She was reaching out to him through the always open telepathic connection between them, her mind panicking when she noted their combined chakra reserves nearly empty of all control. 

The young Uchiha was unconsciously tightening her grip on her Sasuke’s back, shuffling forward so she could press herself to him chest-to-chest, forehead-to-forehead, soul-to-soul. Sasuke always contained the better, more confident, half of their entire existence. The fact that he was too exhausted or injured to stir at her cries was deeply disconcerting. 

The second son of the main Uchiha line was the entire reason for her continued existence, his happiness and protection her _everything_ in a family that looked at them as traitors simply for being born different. It didn’t even seem to matter where they were or how they got there, only that Sasuke was still _alive_ , _breathing_ and _closer_ to her than before. 

The elder’s soft exhalations were rustling across the top of her head, chin-length black strands dancing at either of her temples as Hime-like bangs shadowed her furrowed brows. The young girlwas shivering in the wake of her twin’s unconscious whimper, an unnatural heaviness weighing down her limbs as it attempted to drag her awareness back into the encompassing abyss. 

The world around her was struggling to form through intermittent explosions of pain, an unrestrained ache blooming deftly across a creased forehead as Hinata fought a seemingly losing battle against clearing the hazy memories stitched behind clenched eyelids. The events of yesterday were a mess of sporadic recollections, instinctive feelings, fear and dizzying shots of adrenalin. 

She was almost afraid to move, afraid to shatter the bubble of comfort settled so wholly around her. She couldn’t contain her anxiety, however. How long had it been since they last slept through the night without night terrors? Without reliving the horrible events that sprawled the entirety of the Uchiha compound in the bodies of their kin? 

It was—. 

Wrenching herself from the bloodied images swimming to the forefront of her mind, the eight-year-old struggled to breathe as she cast her senses across the underground labyrinth in search of answers. 

There was a dense chakra mass swimming into focus a few meters ahead, the heavy indigo-blackness threaded with a familiar but hefty wildfire contrast that allied them as kin. Not only that, but the spiralling existence of it was much like their own, a density and cosmic size rarely seen in the Uchiha unless one was born of the infamous cursed line. 

Come to think it, Hinata could vaguely recall her and Sasuke sifting through a complex array of hand seals and chakra whilst standing in the centre of a sigil-carved _shinden_ not too long ago. Not only that, but the encompassing weight of the earth settled above them was muskily distinct. 

They were situated in the tunnels spread beneath the Naka Shrine. 

There was an unnatural abyss creeping across the underground passageways as a result, the young girl’s mind reeling with confusion and displeasure as she reluctantly pulled herself from Sasuke’s encompassing grasp. 

_I’ll keep you safe,_ Hinata promised. She was making her way through the twisted subterranean labyrinth, acute kunoichi senses stretching before her untill the only thing she was aware of was the unique chakra situated not too far from their isolated room. 

Hiding in a bunker several turns from her left, the eight-year-old tread a near undetectable path in its direction as time seemed to slow. She didn’t like leaving Sasuke’s side when he was vulnerable, especially when there was a possibility the new arrival wanted to harm them. Yet, she couldn’t control the curiosity and dread filling her veins. 

Kith…kin, the chakra was—. 

“Quite the little sensor, aren’t you?” A gruff baritone interrupted her thoughts, the apathetic cadence startling the little girl as surprised ametrine orbs snapped in the direction of the sound. Standing nonchalantly with his shoulder against the cavern wall, the shadowed being’s crossed arms and intimidating stance was enough to stall the very breath in Hinata’s lungs. 

Bathed in the undulating shadows of a sputtering fire, the eight-year-old felt her heart racing rapidly against the blood and bone of its prison. Uchiha black eyes collided knowingly with hers, the man’s irises twisting and shifting at her noticeable unease. It didn’t take long for the onyx depths to give way to a unique three-tamoe Sharingan. 

Hinata gasped. It was the mature form of their unique _kekkei genkai_ …the genetic inheritance that should have been extinguished in all but her and Sasuke—. 

“A-Alive.” Hinata whispered. “H-he…h-h-he left o-one a-alive.” She stuttered, bare feet no longer caring for being silent as she ran forward to circle her arms around an unfamiliar waist. It didn’t matter that she never met this man before, nor that his chakra and prestige felt more than intimidating enough to terrify even Kage on the battlefield. 

_No_ , all that mattered was that Hinata and her twin were no longer so achingly alone. They had family, they had _Clan_ …they had—. 

“Ah. I am alive thanks to you and your brother, little Uchiha Hime.” The elder noted, his waist-length tresses tickling her fingers as he sunk down on one knee to draw her in a familial embrace. He smelled of hellfire and smoke, the darkness and death clinging to his frame a comfort rather than fear many other would naturally display. 

“H-h-hn,” Hinata wailed silently, pressing her cheek against a warm shoulder as she trembled in elated grief that her once beloved Onii-sama hadn’t eradicated them all. That there was at least _someone_ they could look to for guidance and help. 

These last few months alone had been hell on the two of them. 

Living in the home where their parents’ blood stained the halls was nightmarish enough. Never mind every dead and dying corpse, scattered across street corners, eerily silent homes and shattered market stands; imposed in ghostly recollection inside high district walls. 

The Hokage may have personally been responsible for funding the clean-up of their bloodstained streets, yet it did little to ease the sorrow of three-hundred-and-seventy-three new gravestones decorating the Clan cemetery on the same day. Life would never be the same again, nor would it ever be without pain and despair. Yet, Hinata was glad there was one more survivor to help them remember the importance of _family._

“I-I—,” Shifting slightly to conceal her tears in a warm Uchiha tunic, Hinata fought valiantly to ease the hitch in her breath as a pained recollection of _that_ night danced irrationally behind ametrine irises. It was—. 

“It’ll be alright,” The elder Uchiha noted softly, gloved fingers easing through the stratos-black shimmer of her hair as he pushed her back slightly to observe shyly weeping features. Gentle fingertips were tipping her chin upwards to face him, pale lips drawn in an understanding frown as he tenderly wiped away the tears dripping down flushed cheeks. 

“I owe a debt to the two of you for rousing me.” The man continued. “I promised your brother that I would stay by your side and protect the two of you from harm. Whatever your future, whatever your goals. I will be here to help you achieve them.” Listening intently to the gruff but gentle cadence of his voice, Hinata could only nod in gratitude as she brought her own hand upwards to lay shy knuckles on peony-soft lips. 

“T-thank you.” Her voice was a whisper of lilting gratitude, large onyx-lilac eyes blinking confusedly to clear her vision as she traced the elder’s regal features carved with stoic lines of elegant age beneath Sharingan red eyes. Half their new Uchiha benefactor’s features were hidden by feral shoulder-length locks, a small contrast to the mane of tresses descending all the way down the man’s waist in savage waves. 

He was tall and imposing, severe features beset with a well-known Uchiha stoicism and control as Hinata desperately searched her memory for when she last saw the elder. He looked familiar, but not in a way where she was personally familiar with him—. 

“I am Uchiha Madara, little one. Only inside these walls may you refer to me as such.” The shinobi commanded. “Outside the compound, I’ll be known as Uchiha Mahan. Jōnin of Konohagakura and Patrairch of the Clan. I’ll be taking over the duties of your father by adopting you and Sasuke into my family line.” Madara explained calmly, carefully pulling himself to his feet as he guided the first Uchiha princess in generations towards the back of the room he occupied. 

“I’ll be taking you on as my apprentices. I’m sure the two of you will benefit more from my instruction than any other studies offered by the shinobi of this village.” Hinata had no reason to protest, silently grateful for the man’s calm words as she reached out to her brother’s still slumbering consciousness. 

The sleeping raven was still oblivious to her cries, prompting the younger of the two to sniffle softly as she obediently folded her legs beneath her. The recently dusted off _zabuton_ was a warm comfort beneath her, belying the fact that Madara had no likely been sitting here not too long ago himself. 

The twins’ new guardian went about unsealing a medical scroll stored at the back of the alcove’s crude _mizuya_ , gloved fingertips expertly removing several herbs and dried leaves from the scroll array within. He was going through the motions of preparing a medicinal tea, chamomile flowers, jasmine and guarana serving to fill the sealed chakra boosted leaves with fragrant and less bitter undertones. 

“I-Is S-Sasuke a-alright? I—,” The sight of him mixing an obvious tincture ratcheted up Hinata’s fear. She was shying away from strict Uchiha black eyes snapping in her direction, trembling hands fumbling with the dark blue hem of her high-collared Uchiha shirt. Madara noted the effects of her crippling shyness, wondering absently what he could do to make her trust him a bit more as he hung the kettle above the hearth. 

“He’s fine, little Hime. Drained and exhausted, perhaps. But nothing some rest cannot solve. You, on the other hand, were dosed with a high-level shinobi sedative. I’m surprised you can move around at the moment. How do you feel? Headache? Soreness? Heaviness?” Blinking dazedly at the query, Hinata breathed a quiet sigh of relief the moment she learned Sasuke would be alright. She didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him, if she wasn’t there to—. 

“Hinata?” 

“Un,” She nodded briefly, recalling the question he asked as dark brows furrowing behind soft blue-black bangs. She was taking stock of the aches and pains slowing her limbs, the blinding headache working deviously to sap her innate strength and scramble her thoughts. 

“H-heavy.” She iterated softly, large opalescent eyes looking towards their ancestor for answers as he placed a traditional _yunomi_ before her. “H-hurts too.” The tea was distinctly fragrant and sweet, the Uchiha Patrairch nodding understandingly as he encouraging her to partake in his remedy. 

“The tea will help. Make sure you finish it all.” Hinata didn’t protest, trusting their adoptive Patrairch to protect her. The tea was bitter but not unseemly, a quiet calm settling the roil of her chakra as she breathed a sigh of relief when the nausea in her stomach retreated. It didn’t take long for the pain in her head to dull to a more tolerable level, too. 

She was finishing the cup in thought, watching from the corner of her lashes as Uchiha Madara settled himself behind a low table not too far from her. There was a large scroll spread on the wooden surface before him, the Uchiha blue, red and white colours standing out in the dim light as she vaguely remembered Sasuke unrolling the same scroll yesterday with the aid of his blood. 

Not that it really mattered, she thought. They were finally safe. How long the two of them sat in silence, the little Uchiha couldn’t quite tell. Only that she was drawn from her thoughts when a distinct warmth spread in her chest and a quiet cry resounded in her mind. 

“M-Madara-sama…m-may I—” 

“Ah.” The Patriarch nodded without looking up. “Go fetch your brother. It’s about time we leave the underground. I’m sure Monkey has the district cleaned by now.” 

“H-hai.” She bowed, thanking the older man for his kindness as she vanished inside the confusing tunnels without fear. Her senses were trained on one thing and one thing only — her beloved Sasuke’s stirring chakra and waking consciousness. Hinata could feel his distress as her own, his call near deafening when he discovered missing from his side. 

_I’m coming, Sasuke._ She reassured softly, swearing to herself that nothing would ever come between the two of them. They were twined by fate, carved infinitely, from the fabric of the same soul. Not even the gods in the cosmos could keep him from her and her from him. 

* * * * 

The sound of childish chatter and laughter echoed deafeningly across Academy grounds, twin pairs of unique onyx-ametrine orbs mirrored on soft childlike features as Sasuke refused to let go of Hinata’s hand. Their fingers were twined in an anchoring tether, the mid-afternoon sun near blinding behind fluffy white clouds as the twins naturally separated themselves from their peers in the shade of a large willow tree. 

The last Uchiha had just escaped an ANBU ambush in their own home two days before, the draining events of the day still a bitter reminder that Sasuke and his beloved sister would never again be able to trust the benevolence of the village forces. Even if Madara told them they had to keep attending lessons for the sake of appeasing politics, the stoic eight-year-olds were unwilling to entrust each other’s safety to anyone but the three Uchiha currently situated in Konohagakura no Sato. 

The Patrairch of the Clan swore to take over their education and protection himself, a promise he kept by not only helping Hinata heal from the sedative she was dosed with but using the whole of yesterday to assess their progress in the shinobi arts by his expert hand. 

Having explored the Clan’s famed shuriken techniques with a master of the art, in lieu of ninjutsu practice when they were both still overwhelmingly drained from rousing him from the grave; already had the potential to change the outcome of their path. The Academy was far too reliant on the progress of civilians, he had mused. Citing that oftentimes teachers neglected Clan children by placing them at lower levels than their skill demanded. 

It would have taken _years_ if they followed the path laid out by the village to reach their current strength, their guardian noted. A fact Sasuke believed when he and Hinata were already considered top of their class simply because they had been training in Clan techniques and chakra control since they were four. 

Or perhaps it was just the pride of the Uchiha talking. They were considered the most powerful clan in the village, after all. The most powerful clan felled by the hands of their own prodigy—. 

“I-I made y-your f-favourite today, Sasuke.” Hinata said softly, her voice a tranquil ray of light in the storm of her brother’s thoughts as she squeezed his hand and placed a lavender wrapped bento on their laps. They were sitting thigh-to-thigh, sides pressed together without a single gap as stoic features tilted slightly to lay his forehead against her shoulder with a sigh. 

“Hn.” The young Uchiha replied, happily drinking in his twin’s soft wisteria-starlight scent as she went through the motions of unwrapping their lunch and sorting through the onigiri and, surprisingly, inarizushi settled in the sectioned pail. 

“M-Mahan-san h-helped make them this m-morning.” She answered his unspoken curiosity, her innate sensitivity to others low opinion of her struggling to pay no mind to the bitterly jealous glares many of the kunoichi in their class shot in their direction. It was as if she was committing some of kind of cardinal sin sitting so close to Sasuke, to draw any form of comfort from his proximity like they had since they were born. It was—. 

“You shouldn’t mind their stares, little Hime.” An increasingly familiar voice they had been getting to know over the last few days, interrupted. A blur of feral black and Uchiha blue descended from the shadows of the tree above, sandalled feet silently but sturdily landing beside the entwined twins. Their ancestor’s rose to an imposing hundred-and-eighty-six-centimetre height, arms crossed nonchalantly over his chest as he laid his back against the tree’s target scored bark. 

Even in full view of the students and teachers, not a single person registered his abrupt arrival. Sasuke and Hinata were only vaguely aware he had cast a radial genjutsu over Academy grounds, his entire existence concealed in its barrier as he silently but determinedly intercepted the far too curious ANBU cell the last two Uchiha had picked up without knowing. 

It seemed he would have to have another talk with Hiruzen, the Patrairch mused. He did _not_ agree to let the man spy on him _or_ the children’s every move. Laying a calming hand atop Hinata’s mortifyingly bowed head, the feral-haired shinobi flicked his gaze at her twin who refused to relinquish his little sister’s hand or lift his head from her shoulder. 

They were unusually affectionate for Uchiha, he thought. Their proximity already stirring close to the forbidden even whilst so young. But then again, Uchiha always loved differently. 

Sasuke didn’t move under the demon’s scrutiny, merely lidding his eyes in quiet appeasement as he tried to ignore the slight flush of embarrassment pinking his cheeks. He was meeting Madara’s stern eyes with a daring glare of his own, watching an amused grin curl the corner of the eternal thirty-seven-year-old’s lips as a heavy Uchiha tunic swayed quietly in the breeze. 

The rich black fabric was drinking in the rays of the sun, its hue as dark and colourless as the man’s long raven black hair. For once the savage tresses were pulled in a high tail atop Madara’s head, a gold and red thread binding the locks to create a masterful allusion to the red and white _uchiwa_ embossed imposingly on his back. 

Even though shoulder-length bangs partially concealed Madara’s stern features, there was no mistaking the amused glint sparking in the man’s left eye. He was thoroughly entertained by Sasuke’s expressions, the massive Clan gunbai an indication of his patriarchal standing to the rest of the village shinobi. 

It was almost funny how little his appearance changed from the massive thirty-meter statue at the Valley of the End. Even textbooks etched with his figure were similar. It was the Konoha affiliated hitai-ate tied carelessly to the steel-clipped obi around his waist, that he couldn’t get used to. The last time Madara had worn one, his entire life had been ruined by the Shodaime’s subpar leadership skills. 

“W-would you l-like some i-inarizushi, M-Mahan-san?” Hinata asked quietly, holding the bento box out to the elder Uchiha as he breathed a noncommittal ‘hn’ and allowed his shoulders to relax momentarily. It had been a long time since he last took a moment to merely observe his surroundings, dark onyx orbs observing the play of children and innocence on Academy grounds as time stilled. 

The twins, he noted, stood out. They had been touched by darkness and despair much earlier than their Academy peers, their understanding of the sacrifice needed in their profession much more in depth and personal than most. It was no wonder they refused to mix with their classmates. They had lost their inherent playfulness as children. 

Curling gloved fingertips into frustrated fists by his side, the eternal thirty-seven-year-old finally relented as he settled himself next to Sasuke and accepted a part of the lunch shared between the twins. The more daring of the two finally relaxed in his presence, the aggravated tension and fear melting from the little eight-year-old’s frame as Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief now that Madara was beside them. 

He had promised to look after them, even when the elder executed a forbidden hand seal to release a wood clone in the distance. There were many things the Uchiha demon needed to do after all, not least among them, establishing his Clan as alive again to certain parties. 

The curious murder of crows settled on the other side of the Academy grounds, tugged at his spatial awareness. He could already guess who sent them, just as much as little Hinata was tugging her brother towards the wildflower fields on the other side of the Uchiha compound the moment the bell rang. 

There were graves to be cleaned and respected, flowers to be laid out and prayers offered to their family now that they were no longer alone. And after that…after than came the honing of their skill and purpose in life, one carefully cultivated by the legendary Uchiha god, Madara. 

He would never abandon Clan, he had sworn. Not after the disaster of a time he had been summoned into. He was their everything just as much as they were his everything. 

* * * * 

Hana-Nii - 花二 - Second Flower

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it! If I can ask for a tiny review to ask if you enjoyed it, please let me know. I'm also open to any plot chatterings you are willing to engage in, I'm actually very friendly and open to those who wish to talk. 
> 
> Yours Always  
> Chocolate Carnival


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